


alone together

by mayoroftokyo (somalester)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Asexual Nines, Detroit Evolution, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this instead of my assignment RIP my grades, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Nightmares, consent negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23899408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somalester/pseuds/mayoroftokyo
Summary: Sometimes, the dark of the night can help miracles come along - Gavin and Nines have a much needed talk.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 10
Kudos: 172





	alone together

**Author's Note:**

> this is based on the movie Detroit Evolution (available on YouTube), and though it doesn't have any spoilers in it I'd recommend watching the movie first as it's absolutely incredible and the team around Octopunk Media deserves more recognition for their work
> 
> enjoy reading!

_alone together._ Reed900.

* * *

Nines is not sure how they ended up like this. Gavin’s arms are wrapped around his chest, his head is leaning on the spot where Nines’ heart would be if he was human. Over the course of the night, the sheets moved down to where their legs are tangled; it’s only spring, but the nights are getting warmer - a human and an android as close as they are right now can generate a lot of heat.

Nines’ hands circle Gavin’s shoulders in what he hopes is a steady, comforting grip. A good fifteen minutes have passed now, and Gavin has stopped shaking, but Nines can’t bring himself to let go just yet.

He doesn’t have to ask about the dream this time.

It wasn't supposed to escalate like it had. They’d been sent out on a homicide like it’d happened often before the revolution; the android had fallen under the radar and only deviated as a response to the humans’ violent behaviour. When they arrived on scene, the android was still scared and confused. Nines was equipped with state-of-the-art negotiation programs, but the situation had escalated anyway.

The bullet had gone straight through his chest.

Thankfully, where a human’s heart sits, an android only has cables. He’d needed replacements for the parts that’d been directly hit and a heavy dose of new Thirium to replace what he’d lost, but in human terms, it was hardly worse than a sprained ankle.

Of course, it hadn’t seemed that way to Gavin. Nines futilely tried to get him to go home and rest while he was in repairs. Instead, Gavin waited for two hours while the technicians patched up the mess in his chest. When Nines finally walked out, Gavin greeted him with eyes whose red rims were impossible to miss. He’d looked like he was staring right at a ghost.

Nines closes his eyes for a moment. He hates the thought of Gavin that upset, because of something that happened to him.

They went to sleep next to each other, with Gavin’s head resting on his shoulder. Nines powered down his systems to give his body time to cool down after the - admittedly strenuous - events of the afternoon. When he was woken by his programming registering that Gavin was experiencing a nightmare, he found them like this: bodies pressed together as close as possible. 

Nines knows androids aren’t designed to move when their systems are powered down. The implication sends a wave of painful tenderness for the human in his arms flow through his system.

They’re in those early hours of the morning, when the night still lingers and most other humans are still asleep, that Nines has learned to appreciate. Gavin tends to be much less guarded without the expectations of other humans around.

Gavin sighs, and Nines’ sensitive sensors register the feeling of his shaky breath moving across the thin material of his shirt.

“How are you doing, Gavin?” Nines asks into the silence.

He hears - and feels - Gavin take a sharp breath. “Why are you asking _me_ that? Nines, you got _shot_.”

“I did,” he acknowledges. There’s no use in trying to argue about the severity of it. Gavin had been right there beside him. “But you had to see it happen. I know humans can find it… difficult to deal with that sort of thing.”

Gavin snorts. “That’s one way to say it.”

Nines resists the urge to shift, not wanting to disturb the human still nestled safely in his arms, but also needing an outlet for the unease he’s beginning to feel. It’s been over a year, and yet, he still keeps finding himself in situations that he’s never had to navigate before. This is one of them.

“I meant it Gavin,” he presses, by now accustomed to Gavin’s tactics of deflection whenever he’s not in the mood to talk about his emotions. “How are you feeling?”

Gavin sighs. “I’ve been better, Tin Can. But hell, instead of locking myself in a different room I’m letting you cuddle me here, that’s gotta count for something.”

Nines frowns at the word. They haven't had… _this_ , for very long. They’ve kissed and held hands - much to the annoyance of everyone else in the precinct - but it’s never been like this. Touching so openly, closely.

It doesn't come easy to Gavin, Nines knows that. This feels more like the simulations in his Zen Garden instead of the real Gavin.

Nines reacts instinctively, searching in his protocols for information. His quickly spinning LED sends a faint yellow glow through the room. His hand, still resting on Gavin’s shoulder, twitches nervously.

He feels Gavin shift against his chest.

“Dude,” he says, dryly. “Are you googling ‘cuddling’ right now?”

Nines scoffs. “No. My human behaviour programs are very advanced. I do not need to google any such thing.”

Gavin rolls his eyes. “Asshole,” he says, but there is no heat behind it.

They fall into silence, but it’s not as comfortable as it was before. It’s too intense, too loaded with things they haven’t even begun to talk about.

Nines lowers his eyes to where Gavin’s thumb is rubbing circles across the back of his hand, which is in perfectly human-looking condition.

Gavin is still looking at at his temple.

“Your mood ring is going crazy,” he says softly. “What’s wrong?”

Nines hesitates, which is counterintuitive at best for a model such as the RK900. He’s not designed to put complicated feelings into words. Much less so when those feelings are intimately connected to a human he’s come to hold close to his metaphorical heart.

“We haven’t done this before,” is what he ends up deciding on. He’s unsure whether it’s the right thing to say; another novel sensation that he’s had to come to terms with in the past weeks. “This is not very… intuitive to me.”

He feels Gavin tense in his arms before he lifts his head from Nines’ chest and props himself up on his elbows. Nines reluctantly lets him go, looks up at Gavin and sees him frown.

“Nines, are you okay?”

This, for once, he knows the answer to. “Of course I am.” He lifts his left hand to Gavin’s cheek. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No.” Gavin averts his eyes, lets his gaze wander across the room. He does it often, Nines has noticed, in situations of emotional vulnerability. “I mean, are you okay with this? I… I know you have your boundaries when it comes to, uh, human contact.”

It’s Nines’ turn to briefly stare at where their hands are still touching, to remind himself that this is real, that Gavin has already laid his worries to rest once before.

In the faint yellow light, Nines can see the concern all over Gavin’s face. And the reassurance comes easy to him. All he has to do is tell the truth. “I’m right where I want to be, Gavin. I’m just not used to this.”

Gavin’s eyes find his again, and Nines concludes that must’ve taken him a lot of courage. “But if you weren’t, you’d tell me?”

Nines thinks back to all those times Gavin had lashed out instead of letting other people in. And when he’d spent hours inside his own head with the Gavin he’d created himself instead of the real one.

“I would, yes.”

Gavin’s grip around his hand tightens.

“Good.I just don’t wanna mess this up, you know?” He swallows, hesitates. “I care about you, Nines, but I’ve never had a relationship with someone like you. I’m kind of outta my depth here.”

This is Gavin asking for guidance, Nines realises, even if only implicitly. And he knows pointing it out would not lead to desirable consequences.

“Hey. This is new to me, too. We can figure it out together.” Nines squeezes Gavin’s hand in reassurance. “Even though I’ve been…” He struggles for the right word. “ _Alive_ for over a year now, I still discover new things every once in a while.” He tilts his head. “Perhaps we should both make an effort to talk to each other.”

Gavin breaks their eye contact, instead choosing to stare at the sport where a bullet had torn through Nines’ chest only a few hours ago. “Yeah,” he whispers. “We should.”

It’s not a promise - hell, it’s hardly even a concession that Nines is right. But Nines knows Gavin. Knows it’s never going to be that easy, and this is as big a step as any.

Gently, he lifts his left hand to Gavin’s cheek - the contrast of the white chassis against human skin is illuminated by the steady blue light of his LED.

When Gavin’s lips touch his, he can feel himself smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! As always, comments are appreciated and I apologize for any mistakes as english is not my first language and I don't have a beta. 
> 
> have a nice day <3


End file.
